Courses for Winter 2013
Click Here for a printable version
|
IIt’s the pinnacle of medieval literature, one of the highest flights of Western imagination, an immortal journey to the depths and beyond - and yet a book more talked about, even (strangely) more remembered than read. Together, we’ll follow Dante on the first third of his journey into the realms beyond ours. We’ll stumble on the damned, hear their stories, and encounter one of the world’s great reading experiences, a book no one ever forgets. When it comes to The Divine Comedy, we’re all novitiates. So let’s take a walk into the light. THE REQUIRED TRANSLATION WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR A $5 PURCHASE ON THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS Instructor: Mark Scarbrough See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
Three years ago a Pastor, a Rabbi, and a Sheikh formed a relationship that bonded them together as friends. How a Christian, a Jew, and a Muslim found themselves in dialogue is expressed in a book entitled Getting at the Heart of Interfaith. Using this book, this course will provide a resource for building such a dialogue. As we read the book together we will pursue ways in which to transcend the differences that have divided us historically. The cost of the book is $17. Available from Skylight Paths Publishing, Woodstock, Vermont or www.skylightpaths.com . Instructor: Duane Estes | ||||
|
This year’s course will examine the following: Washington’s Patriot Enemies; Jefferson’s Second Term; Jackson, Calhoun, and Nullification; Johnson, Grant, and Hayes; Reconstruction and Redemption (two sessions), and the Japanese/American Diplomacy Before Pearl Harbor. Instructor: Thomas Key See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
The main interest of the course will be a classroom reading and discussion of Love’s Labor’s Lost, enriched by a sampling of scholarly opinions, historical background, and filmed versions. The play will be one of the main stage productions this summer by Shakespeare & Company in nearby Lenox, Massachusetts. As in the past, the class will have the opportunity to see it there and talk with at least one of the actors. Participants should bring to the first class one of the many ANNOTATED editions of the play, which are available in paperback on line or may be purchased at the Oblong Bookstore in Millerton. Instructor: William DeVoti See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
In this series of two-hour videos, Michael Tilson Thomas has taken up the educational reins from his mentor Leonard Bernstein. Perfect for those who wish to be educated as well as entertained, each video starts with a documentary in which MTT brings us behind the scene to give a detailed exploration and analysis of several compositions including Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique, Tchaikovsky’sFourth Symphony, Shostakovitch’s Fifth Symphony, and others. In the second hour, the San Francisco Symphony, conduced by MTT, performs the complete work. Instructor: See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
The class will read 4 plays by the same author, Henrik Ibsen. The plays are: A Doll House, Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, and Master Builder. Participants should plan to bring a copy of the plays to the first session. The four plays may be found in Four Major Plays, Volume I, by Ibsen. This is available from Amazon, either as a new book or as an inexpensive used paperback. Any collection that has these four plays will be all right. Instructor: Rosemary Farnsworth See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
Richard Collins and Tracy Atwood will teach this year’s course, which will address the following topics, selected by the Foreign Policy Association: Future of the Euro; Egypt; NATO; Myanmar and Southeast Asia; Humanitarian Intervention; Iran; China in Africa; Threat Assessment. All registrants should order the 2013 briefing book( $25-00 inc.ship) on the internet from fpa.org. (Click on great decisions and then great decisions pre-order box.) Instructor: | ||||
|
This course will detail some of the significant technological advances that have occurred in medicine since 1945. It is not possible to present all the advances in one term. Therefore, this will be a brief attempt to present in more or less detail what the presenter thinks are advances worth discussing. In addition, time will be set aside to discuss those advances which the audience, the ultimate consumers of these advances, feels are significant. I will present topics that are difficult to understand, and armed with this class members will be able to pursue further knowledge on subjects that interest them. Medicine is a fascinating subject with simple individual topics. The problem is that they all work simultaneously, hence the complexities. Suggestions are always welcome, for this topic is too broad for me to understand all of it. I will e-mail to those who sign up for the course an outline of the topics to be covered each week. Instructor: Lynn Whelchel See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
The United States has been the number one economy and the dominant world military power for more than a century. Nothing lasts forever and the number one is a big target. Other nations are gaining on us and narrowing our lead. Experts now predict that in about 15 years China will overtake the U.S. and become the largest economy. We will look at the global economy and cover the inter-relationships of competitiveness, productivity, growth, trade, demographics, and political and financial systems. These factors will lead to the inevitable convergence of standards of living as faster growing emerging economies catch up to the U.S. and other developed nations. Maybe it won’t be all bad if the U.S. handles the transition with common sense and a renewed sense of purpose and competitive urgency. Perhaps. The standard warning applies: Economics is called the dismal science for a good reason, but if you bring a functioning sense of humor we shall overcome. Instructor: Jerry Jamin See this instructor's bio | ||||
|
As students in this class read Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, they will select passages for discussion at our meetings. I will begin each class with some background material about Thoreau’s life and thought. Following this introduction, students will briefly write about and then discuss the selected passages. I may offer more passages that I think are pertinent to the discussion as it evolves or that are too important to miss. The course will also include a trip to see the Replica of Thoreau’s “house” and its authentic furnishings at Berkshire School in Sheffield. I recommend that students purchase the excellent and reasonably priced text I’ll be using, the fully annotated Walden edited by Jeffrey Cramer, available new and used through Amazon.com. This hardcover book is not to be confused with a softcover Walden also edited by Jeffrey Cramer but not fully annotated. Both are from Yale University press. Instructor: | ||||
|
Water color was traditionally a hand maiden to scientific drawings, and artists accompanied expeditions around the world . John James Audubon combined science and art, but water color was also considered suitable for Victorian ladies. Winslow Homer elevated it to a major art medium, and John Singer Sargent used it for travel sketches and personal expression. We will explore some unique styles in the 20th century with Maurice Prendergast, Helen Frankenthaler, and Sam Francis. Instructor: | ||||
|
Europe has been in the throes of economic crises since 2008. there is every reason to believe that it will continue for some time. We will discuss the history of the European Union, the Common Market, and the Euro and their importance to the American Economy. Our discussion will include democracy and the lack thereof, in the formation of the Common Market, the European Parliament, the central bank, and more. We will continue to discuss HEADLINES and ask you to bring in current headlines that are of interest to you. We will continue our practice of discussing all subjects that are introduced. Instructor: | ||||
|
This course will study George Bernard Shaw’s play Man and Superman, including the rarely performed “Don Juan in Hell” scene. We will then explore through the written texts and videos The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest by Tirso de Molina (in translation), Moliere’s Dom Juan (also in translation), Mozart and da Ponte’s opera Don Giovanni, and films Don Juan with Errol Flynn, The Private Life of Don Juan with Douglas Fairbanks, and Don Juan de Marco with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando. The focus of the course will be the changing view of a mythic character from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Class members are urged to read Shaw’s Man and Superman including the preface and the “Don Juan in Hell” scene prior to the first class. The play is available in paperback and at all nearby libraries Instructor: Thomas Gruenewald See this instructor's bio |
